Bangsamoro region now has its own flag

Photo by Sheila Mae dela Cruz, Inquirer Mindanao

COTABATO CITY – The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the interim government of the newly created autonomous territory, has the official flag of the Bangsamoro region.

The interim parliament approved the measure on August 23, and interim Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim signed it on August 28, the first legislation that he signed into law.

Ebrahim, himself, proposed the legislation.

The Bangsamoro flag sought to reflect the Bangsamoro peoples’ identity, history, heritage, struggles, and aspiration.

It contains four colors—green, white, red, and yellow.

It also contains a crescent, a seven-rayed star, and a Kris, the signature Moro sword.

The flag is divided into three major stripes or segments.

Bangsamoro Interior Minister Naguib Sinarimbo said the green color on top of the flag reflects Islamic teachings and principles; white in the middle signifies peace, Sakina or tranquility, and righteousness; and red at the bottom represents the fallen mujahideens or freedom fighters who fought for the recognition of the identity and self-determination of the Bangsamoro people.

In the middle of the flag’s white segment is a golden yellow crescent moon and a golden yellow seven-rayed star. Yellow signifies a bright future that awaits the Bangsamoro; and the crescent moon symbolizes the principles that guided the Bangsamoro people who struggled for self-determination, Sinarimbo explained.

Sinarimbo added that the seven-rayed star represents the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao Del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-tawi, Basilan, Cotabato City and the 63 barangays in Cotabato province that are now part of Bangsamoro region.

The white Kris in the middle of the flag’s red segment symbolizes the resistance of the Bangsamoro people and indigenous peoples in Mindanao against tyranny, oppression, and injustices, Sinarimbo said.

The new regional law mandates that the Bangsamoro flag shall be hoisted alongside the Philippine flag.

With a new flag adopted, the old regional flag that was the emblem of the now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was consigned to the Bangsamoro museum. /tsb